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Tuesday 30 October 2012

Hepatitis E - Mussels - Scotland


We have long known that British oysters and other shellfish are heavily infected with norovirus. Why they are still on sale baffles us.

It has long been obvious that pig effluent is the culprit in many cases, maybe human sewage too.

Now, we see a connection between shellfish, pig effluent and Hepatitis E in Scotland.

What UK governments do know, they ignore, leaving it to civil servants apparently under the impression that you can handle zoonotic disease with increased PR and harassing anyone speaking out.

This comment is undeniable. 

...“Thus, possible transmission routes for HEV remain poorly studied in the United Kingdom (2).”...

Shipping readers will note the reference to an incident on a cruise vessel. We looked at the official report on a similar incident on a vessel ex the UK and came to the conclusion that it was worthless. To us it looked like contaminated water supply.

The letter in full is here

Letter

Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3 in Shellfish, United Kingdom


·       
To the Editor: Bivalve mollusks (shellfish), such as mussels and oysters, are filter feeders; they concentrate microorganisms of human and animal origin (up to 100×) from the surrounding environment. Several recent reports have linked the incidence of human infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) to consumption of undercooked pork, game products, and shellfish (1,2). Infectious HEV has been found in swine manure and wastewater (3); therefore, application of manure to land and subsequent runoff could contaminate coastal water, leading to contamination of shellfish and, subsequently, possible human infection...